Matters of the Heart
by Artemis Hunter
Summary: When an old face from Inara's past arrives on Serenity, will Mal be able to handle the competition? Will the two finally be able to get over themselves and admit their feelings for one another? Sequel to "Loyalties" M/I goodness, OC character
1. Chapter 1

**NOTICE: The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to to run with it!**

_Mal/Inara centric fic. When an old face from Inara's past arrives on Serenity, will Mal be able to handle the competition? Will the two finally be able to get over themselves and admit their feelings for one another? (Sequel to "Loyalties"...spoilers to prequel included!)_**  
**  
_Humor, smut, jealousy, with just a dash of angst thrown in later chapters to make things interesting. ;D Bask in the Mal/Inara-ness!  
_

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**CHAPTER 1**

It was well into the afternoon, and Inara Serra stood at the stove top of the kitchen, watching absentmindedly as steam slowly drifted up from the tea kettle she had set on the hot iron top. _Serenity _was silent, still. The crew had gone off ship, seeing as the great Captain Reynolds had finally discovered that shore leave was an effective way to keep morale up among the group. They were more than happy to stay off Serenity till well into the evening. Simon and Kaylee, especially.

Inara smirked at the thought. The young mechanic was trying her damndest to prove to Simon just how much she loved him, even enough so to convince him to let them splurge on a romantic getaway. Zoe and Jayne had accompanied River into town, glad of the chance to distract themselves a bit from the under the radar jobs that had been few and far between for them. Inara had stayed behind, with no steady work of her own to speak of out on the dead Rim of the 'verse, and for the most part, she was content to relax with some peace and quiet alone. And Mal...Well, God only knew wherever that man went, it was likely to be in his own mind.

Much had happened over the last few weeks. The encounter with Commander Kerrn Draedon had left its mark on everyone. A threat on one of their own was never taken lightly, especially if that one was Kaylee. She smiled weakly at her choice of words. _Their own._ It had taken her a long time to admit it, but she, now joining everyone else, considered herself a member of this crew. Of course, that came with a great diversity of pros and cons. Including having to heed to the Captain's orders.

But the two had seemed to come to an understanding after the incident with Dreadon. Everyone knew that Mal had barely made it out alive. Inara herself had been by his side as he bled to death on the dusty earth, ready to meet his Maker. She shuddered at the thought, only recalling how close she had come to actually losing him that day. Again, another odd choice of phrasing.

She leaned against the counter, dressed much simpler than usual, but her flowing cotton skirt and embroidered blouse were still very much Inara. She ran her hand along her personal ceramic cup, cold cast iron with Chinese proverbial symbols etched into the outside. _Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still._ She turned the cup around in her palm, staring at the phrase.

It wasn't particularly late in the day, but Inara had had little to keep herself occupied, short of rummaging through the client registry, which had coincidently had been collecting dust as of late. Perhaps it was time she got back on her feet, earned her own way independently of Serenity's crew. She pushed the trivial thought away as she placed the cup back on the table, leaning her elbow against the counter rather casually as she returned her gaze to the rising steam in the pot. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, the boredom getting the better of her.

"You drink anymore tea you're gonna start _sweatin_' the stuff."

She opened her eye abruptly, standing straight as Mal's voice broke the silence. "Not that you _sweat_, of course."

She turned, feeling her breath hitch as she sensed how awkwardly close the captain was to her. He had purposely corned her against the stove, in his recently acquired hobby of pushing the limits of her comfort zone.

Inara swallowed quickly, forcing out a sarcastic smirk. "Funny," she quipped, meeting his gaze characteristically head on. The tea kettle behind her began to whistle, but for moments, she merely stood there, eyes locked wordlessly. She hated the fact that it took her a noticeably long time to muster the will to slip to the side and out of his path. "So, you decide to stay on board, too?" She asked hurriedly, grabbing the kettle and pouring the boiling water out into her iron cup.

Mal's expression was simple and almost tired looking. Glancing downward as she turned to face him, he let his eyes rack back up to her face. Holding her gaze steadily he licked his lips. She moved away and he simply turned to face where she was now. Pouring tea. "I wanted to catch up on some sleep. What with being shot recently, I've been sort of lacking." He said stepping closer to her.

She backed off slightly. "What are you..." Inara never finished her statement as she realized that he'd grabbed her teabag off the counter. Without asking. Moving in front of her, Mal dropped the bag into the water gently. He swooshed it around some, his eyes narrowing on the task.

Looking up he offered her a smile. "Why are _you _still on board? No clients?"

She stiffened at the question. She couldn't just go right out and tell him about her lack of activity lately. "No," she said tersely. She gently pushed him aside with her hip, taking the string attached to the bag from him.

"I've got it, thank you," she insisted sharply. She clenched her teeth silently. Why did this man get under her skin so easily? How could she be so off-balance and tense around him? _You know exactly why, you bai chyr... _Inara grabbed her tea cup, walking over to the table.

Mal gave her a smile at her nervousness. He tilted his head and moved as she asked with her hip. He let the string go and backed up some. Locking his arms over his bare chest, he watched her try to get away without looking him in the eyes. "You're welcome." He let his arms fall to his sides as he waltzed over to her, keeping a smile on his face the whole time.

He came up behind her yet again, peeking over her shoulder at the tea. "What, you ain't gonna share with the very man who took two bullets for you?" He asked lifting his gaze up to her eyes. His face dangerously close to her own. Inara could feel his breath on her, feel his body warmth from being so near. She turned as Mal leaned over her shoulder, and she involuntarily sucked in air, truly uncomfortable.

Backing up he went around her planting himself in front of her, and she exhaled with a slight shudder. Cocking his head back some, Mal never let his eyes fall away from her own. She felt the awkward tension return.

"When did you start guilting me into getting what you want?" she asked with a halfhearted scoff. "I thought we were even, remember? With me playing nursemaid to your every whim for nearly a week and a half..." She met his eyes, unsure at what he was playing at here. He was acting odd, even more so than usual around her.

Mal lifted up his hand putting it to his chest. He put on his mock hurt face and cocked his head to the side. "Aw come on 'Nara, we're still even." He raised his eyebrow at her. Letting his injured expression drop away, he shrugged. Backing up he turned and went to the table. Hopping up he sat on it and watched her from where he sat. "I just thought you'd share."

"There's enough for two," she offered with resignation, pulling out the teabag and blowing lightly on the steaming liquid inside her cup. "You just have to get your own."

"No, no...I just won't ask next time. I'll ask Kaylee. She loves her cap'n. All nice to me and the like."

She watched cautiously as Mal moved away from her, and she felt the temperature in the room suddenly drop down several degrees, from her perspective. "Her inexorable cheer notwithstanding, I'm sure Kaylee only tolerates you because you _pay _her to," Inara shot back in a surprisingly immature fashion, taking a sip of her tea to hide her flippant smirk. She felt considerably more confident now that he was several feet away.

Mal just smiled right back. "Thats what she says to you. Even if I didn't pay her she'd still love me. Kaylee loves my ship and Kaylee loves the captain of the ship. Ain't nobody can tell me different." He said turning his back to her, fiddling around with the cups to find his own.

Inara smirked to herself now. She knew that was true about Kaylee. The girl had a heart of gold, and was the most loving person that the Companion had ever met.

Taking one gulp of cool water, Mal placed his cup on the counter and moved backwards away from it. He turned going back up to her, standing in front now. He moved in closer. Why was he dancing around her like this? Inara pondered to herself silently.

"You kinda hurt my feelings there Inara. Wounded me, really." He lifted his hand up and put it to where one of his gunshots would have been. You could see the scar visibly right now. "See?"

Mal's hand trailed up his own chest, and she found herself following it, only then actually realizing that Mal didn't have a shirt on. It was a few long moments of staring, but she suddenly lost her distracted look at Mal's attempt to bother her, his words hitting an unexpectedly sore spot within her. In all reality, she had _caused _those bullet holes.

"That's not funny, Mal," she reminded him with an injured, sober expression. It was no laughing matter.

Mal's face softened and he nodded looking downward. He then peeked upward holding up his hand pinching his pointer and thumb together. "Not even a lil bit?" He asked.

The corner of Inara's mouth quirked without her control, but she tried her best to keep her upset look dominant. She had no intention of letting Malcolm Reynolds know that he could affect her mood so easily in either direction.

Nodding, Mal dropped his hands. He reached out though taking her free one. He held it within his own and lifted it up to his chest. He placed it over his heart covering her hand with his own.

She hadn't expected him to grab her hand, but she didn't fight it, allowing him to place her palm down on his bare chest. Inara froze there, unsure how to react.

"I apologize from the depths of my heart." A goofy expression appeared on his face, and he kept his hand there waiting for her answer. Either she'd take it or be mad at him some more.

Her hand stiffened against his skin, almost too afraid to move, but when he placed his own palm on top of hers, she couldn't help but visibly loosen it.

"Apology accepted," she assured him with a soft, whisper of a voice, her expression blank and unsure. She tried to force a smile on her face, but it was growing exceedingly difficult to think at all with this kind of behavior coming from Malcolm Reynolds, of all people. What was the matter with him?

A bright smile graced his face and he nodded. "Good. I hate havin' companions mad at me." He said letting her hand rest back in her own control. He stood his ground though staying close to her. Truth be told, he kind of enjoyed it here.

"And you've certainly had your share," she agreed with thick sarcasm. Mal had been around a total of two Companions in his entire life, the lying hwoon dahn... She smirked to herself, but was interrupt in her thoughts as Mal again asked for tea.

"Does that by any chance mean your gonna give me a sip?" He asked curiously tilting his head to the side. "I mean I think I'm gettin' a cold of some sort. Hot fluids always seem to help. Least that's what the good doctor's been tellin' me."

It was then she noticed that Mal had removed his hand from hers, which she was still keeping pressed against his chest. Inara stared at her hand for some time, before slowly letting it fall from his body.

"I suppose if it means that much to you..." she conceded with a sigh. She stepped to the side, only making it a few centimeters before she realized that Mal was blocking her path, being so close to her like this.

Mal's eyes brightened up as a smile escaped him. His eyes moved down her form and then right back up to her face.

"You're in my way," she reminded him with an unusually soft voice. Inara herself didn't even realize how loaded a statement that truly was.

Mal gave a shrug and stayed rooted where he stood. He stepped a bit closer now, letting his head bend forward. Lowering his mouth to her ear. Swallowing roughly, he let out a slow sigh.

"Lets be honest, now... do you really want me to be movin' out of your way?" His shoulder barely touched hers where he stood, his lips dangerous closer to her earlobe.

Mal's body was almost touching hers now, but she was frozen in place. Inara felt her eyes close instinctively as his warm breath brushed past her ear. She leaned her head instinctively in that direction, her mouth trailing open.

"I, uh..." She'd lost all grip on reality. This wasn't happening. Malcolm Reynolds was not actually coming onto her, was he? They were fatally close to having their bodies completely pressing again one another, and Inara automatically shivered. After a moment of convincing herself that it was only to test her theory, her hands trailed up slowly, coming to rest on either side of Mal's chest.

"Mal...stop..." she muttered, not very persuasively, struggling to remain standing as the captain's words threatened to overtake her thoughts.

Mal gave a light smile and chuckled, hot breath fanning out on her skin. He lowered his head further, and his lips finally made contact with the smooth silken flesh he found on her neck. Inara bit back a gasp as Mal's kiss pressed against the highly sensitive spot.

"Only..." Another gentle kiss was planted on her neck. The Companion's hands squeezed the toned muscles of his chest, neatly trimmed nails grazing against his skin.

"...if..." Yet another kiss graced her neck. She exhaled sharply, her breathing heavily labored from the contact.

"...you really..." Inara leaned away slightly to give him access, her eyes shut tight as she tried to control herself.

"...want me to." The final words were breathed hotly over her cooled skin, and she shivered uncontrollably.

Finally he lifted his head from his task, and Inara's eyes drifted open, heavy and dark with arousal. His eyes stared deeply into hers. No longer was there innocent fun shining in them, only undeniable lust. "Do you?" He asked point blank.

Hesitantly, she took a fraction of a step closer, effectively closing the gap between them. A jolt shot through her as their bodies finally touched. His question received no answer as she leaned forward without much by way of control anymore. Her arms lifted further, draping around Mal's broad shoulders as she clung to him. Her face glided towards his slowly, their lips only lightly brushing past each other a moment later.

Mal had ended up getting what he wanted. A reaction. She moved in closer and he could tell by the look in her eyes she was enjoying herself. She wanted more. With that Mal let his hands travel to her sides and slowly work downwards till they rested on her hips. Rocking against her lightly, he leaned forward, connecting the kiss.

She didn't have an objecting bone in her body at this point, kissing Mal back with equal if not more longing. Lips parted beneath his, every though crushed beneath the incredible force of his kiss.

Arching his head back some he took in the way her lips tasted. He was barely pulling away. Teasing maybe? He let his head come back forward and with a dark fierceness, Mal had lifted her up off her feet holding her against him. The captain backed her up more till he placed her firmly on the kitchen counter.

Inara's hands clamped around his neck, her legs immediately hooking around Mal's waist as she was lifted onto the countertop. She ran the back of her ankle against the captain's lower back, running up and down in small circles. Inara had lost all control or will, caught up in the moment as Mal took her eagerly.

"Lao-tyen..." she let out in a hoarse whisper, pulling his head closer into her neck as he drove her to madness. She met his return kiss eagerly, her hands delving into the cool depths of his hair.

"Oh God, Mal," she whispered against his lips, silencing them both afterwards as she kissed him with hard and insatiable need. In the distance, just out of reach of her will to care, the soft whistle of the tea kettle grew louder and louder in the background. Randomly in the back of her mind, Inara thought she had already taken it off the burner...

Moving to stand between her legs and press his body against the cabinet his lips moved away from her own. Moving downward to her neck. Taking it in and tasting it. Running his teeth along the sensitive skin, Mal finally lifted his head up to let his lips fall onto hers again. The kiss becoming deeper.

Heat rose from deep within her as Mal's hands grazed over her body, and Inara let out a gentle sigh. A storm was raging inside her. "Inara," he moaned back, gripping her waist tighter as they movement became frenzied. No. He hadn't moaned. It was more of a statement... surprisingly calm for their current state. As she desperate clung to her lover's body, something subconscious told her that it wasn't the Mal holding her that had said that...

* * *

Stalking into the kitchen, Mal had slowed as he'd noticed Inara, who was standing at the stove. Kettle screeching to be lifted off the burner, and yet she was doing nothing to remedy it. Mal stalked over, seeing her not make a move. "Inara," He repeated with a slightly louder yell, a confused look on his face.

Abruptly, Inara's hand slacked, and her face slipped off it, jolting her awake. Her eyes shot open as she caught herself with a start, and looked out in front of her at the furious cloud of steam climbing in the air before her.

A moment later, her eyes fell on Malcolm Reynolds, fully clothed, and staring at her in bewilderment. "Mal!" she let out, startled, her face still flushed.

He stepped back as she said his name that loud. Something was a amiss with her. She was looking...less than graceful. Companions were supposed to always be on the best of their game, weren't they? Mal's eyebrow raised upward, and he tilted his head to one side.

Her cheeks flushed from the dream she'd just been jostled from, she glanced around in a near panicked state. Her gaze revolved around the room as she tried to get a grip on reality. Her head was still swimming from the encounter.

She straightened up immediately, spinning around at attending to the kettle. Maybe if she kept herself busy, the captain wouldn't notice. God knew she couldn't look at him right now. Not after...after that. "Sorry, I was just..." she trailed off, forcibly slowing her heart rate. She was still riled up, but refused to let Mal see it. "_Thinking_."

"You musta been thinkin' about some heavy stuff. That kettle been screeching for a while now. I could hear it the whole time I was coming here. You sure you're ok?" He asked moving back towards the table. Taking a seat Mal grabbed the empty tin cup from the side and the pitcher the crew probably had used earlier. Mal had no issues with sharing things.

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him in a slightly calmer tone. Inara had managed to relax herself considerably, but she could feel her cheeks still blushing, no doubt aggravated by the fact that she was completely mortified by all this. Mal arriving and waking her up from a particularly shameful daydream. Funny how he was involved in some way with most of her embarrassments these days.

"You sure got a funny definition of fine." He stated shaking his head giving her a weird look. She was really acting funny. It wasn't like her at all. Usually she did that throaty talking and the making Mal feel a might bit dumber than he should have been.

_He will NEVER know_, she swore to herself silently as she took a long sip of her tea, staring awkwardly over the rim at Mal. He sat across the room, looking infuriatingly innocent in all this. That damnedable man would never let you live that down if he did.

Mal poured himself a drink and took a long sip. The captain reached out picking up some paperwork Zoe must have left here. It was mainly stuff for their jobs. He was planning a big one and he needed to have some sort of plan. Him and Zoe seemed to always have something cooking. He picked them up till they covered his face, but he peeked over the top at Inara.

"Why you all red?" He asked.

Inara choked slightly on the hot tea in her mouth, and she fought back a gag. "It's, uh...just the steam," she covered, turning around the stare at the tea kettle in humiliation.

Mal chuckled with a shrug. "I been around a lot of steam and I ain't ever seen steam do that to a person." Shaking his head once more he bent over reading over his paperwork. She was acting like Mal had caught her naked or something. He did a double take...just checking. Nope she wasn't naked. The Captain, always making sure he didn't miss a beat.

Mal let his hand rub quietly on his stomach wound. It became a habit these past couple days. Just something he didn't know he was doing at times. They were turning into scars now. Those would be fun now to explain. Leaning back in the chair his legs sprawled out and hand continued to run over them as he read.

"And you just happen to know everything, don't you?" Inara snapped back at him. Her tone was slightly annoyed, if now a little embarrassed. She finished off her tea in one larger gulp, and she lowered it slightly, fingering the cup with an anxious eye.

Mal looked up. Here came his look again. "You been sniffing your incense a bit too much there Inara." He said shaking his head and looking down at his papers again.

"Well, I have a number of things to get done today, so I'm going to...go...now." She barely managed to mutter out the words, as she placed the empty tea cup back onto the counter. She seemed utterly disoriented, but she knew that she needed to get out of this room...without Mal following her.

Mal wasn't paying much attention to her staring and such. He heard the tea cup be put down, but he didn't make any attempt to give her a formal goodbye. She was announcing she was leaving now? That just wasn't very Inara-like. Mal pushed his feet up on the chair opposite the table and pushed his own chair backwards. He was leaning back on the two legs now watching her walk away.

"You seem a might bit shook up there Inara? You gonna go into your room and have yourself some fantasies about me, huh?" He glanced back down with a lighthearted smirk. He was trying to rattle the her cage.

She shut her eyes, her back to him. _Damn you, damn you, damn you... _At this moment, Inara wanted to crawl into a big hole in the ground and just die. She'd never felt more mortified. But, since the hole wasn't exactly a feasible option, she'd have to settle for her shuttle.

"Bih-zway..." she muttered under her breath at him. As she stepped through the porthole and back to her shuttle, Inara contemplated all the ways she wanted to seriously maim Malcolm Reynolds right now...

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_Congratulations if you read on long enough to appreciate the fake smut :P_

_Please Read and Review. More to Come!_

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_**Chinese Translations:**__

bai chyr fool/idiot

hwoon dahn jerk

Lao-tyen Oh, God

Bih-zway Shut up  


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	2. Chapter 2

**NOTICE: The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to to run with it!**

_Mal/Inara centric fic. When an old face from Inara's past arrives on Serenity, will Mal be able to handle the competition? Will the two finally be able to get over themselves and admit their feelings for one another? (Sequel to "Loyalties"...spoilers to prequel included!)_**  
**  
_Humor, smut, jealousy, with just a dash of angst thrown in later chapters to make things interesting. ;D Bask in the Mal/Inara-ness!  
_

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**CHAPTER 2**

The following morning, Inara sat on the silken cushions of her settee, glancing at her view screen as she had for the last few hours. In her efforts to utterly ignore Mal until she felt confident enough to face him, she locked herself away from the crew, browsing through the client registry.

She now had a less than pristine reputation among the higher profile clients in the sector, but Inara's name still held clout among the aristocracy of many planets. Her cup certainly was not dry. She'd show Mal, she wasn't just a dependent on this ship, at the mercy of the Captain's whims and 'jobs'.

River watched silently from the entrance to Inara's shuttle as the Companion clicked through the client registry. She stood on her tip toes, spying through the porthole on her locked door. River knew that she had no intention of choosing a client today, or ever for that matter. Inara's heart simply was not in it.

The girl smirked, sensing the tension that had gone on between Mal and Inara the previous night. The air was thick with it, in fact. Dreams, thoughts hidden, on both their parts, desires repressed for far too long. The two were liable to kill each other if this dance of theirs went on for much longer.

Unexpectedly, a familiar name suddenly flickered on the screen, along with a personal note in place. Inara's mouth opened slightly in shock, while a smile soon replacing it as she saw that the name in question was now on planet.

* * *

Minutes later, Kaylee stumbled into the main hold of Serenity, leaning drowsily against Simon as the two returned from their romantic getaway. An entire night of rest, relaxation...and quite their fair share of alcohol. It was one of the grandest times she'd ever had with the handsome doctor. From what the young woman could tell, it had been the happiest- and most distracted- Simon had been in a long time.

The incident with Draedon had left its mark on him, and for weeks he'd been sulking back into his old habits. And now, Kaylee was a desperate woman, frantic in her search for a way to heal her lover's troubled mind. Hopefully last night had helped a bit. She squeezed his arm, which she'd wrapped her own through.

"You are lovely, Simon," she looked up at him dreamily.

Simon was still upset about Draedon and all of that, but he had been healing in a slow progression. Kaylee was helping him. Making sure he had his fair share of fun. Last night had been very fun. So much he wasn't sure this morning if he could walk, but his legs proved otherwise when they were able to hold him. Now he was holding onto Kaylee lazily as they walked into Serenity. He too had a bright smile on his face that read into a whole bunch of good emotions he was finally able to experience again.

He had kept his promise to River in that time also. He had not given her up. He had no chosen one over another. It wouldn't have been fair really. He looked over and down at Kaylee with a smile.

"You're pretty lovely too." He planted a kiss on her forehead and continued walking with her. "Where too?" He asked as they got further inside.

Wracking her brain at his question, Kaylee smirked, wholly amused by the disheveled and wrinkled shirt that Simon was sporting from last night. She supposed that there was a good chance that the doctor hadn't worn the same clothes two days in a row in his entire life in the Core. Just another one of the aspects of her life that Kaylee was perfectly happy to introduce him to.

"Well," she thought out loud, holding onto the opposite side of her lover's shirt as she clung to him playfully. "...I gotta admit, I'm a might tired from our shameless gallivantin' around town." She giggled quietly, lifting up on her toes to press a light kiss to his lips. "How's about we sleep on it? Maybe we can come up with somethin' to do when we've got a bit more energy in us." She smiled wickedly, yet surprisingly sweetly: It would seem like a contradiction, if it weren't Kaylee.

Jayne was currently pumping a barbell up and down. A yellow t-shirt covered his torso and some shorts were what he had on today. No need to be intimidating. Plus his shorts were way easier to work out in. It had been nicer when he had Preacher around to spot him and such, though. He worked furiously on pushing the iron up and bringing it back down.

His eyes caught movement at the doors and he glanced that way throwing the weight into the cradle. Well Hell, it was only little Kaylee and her boytoy. He was beginning to think that doctor was becoming more and more her accessory. He grabbed his towel and wiped his face off.

River heard her brother's voice, and tore her gaze away from Inara's shuttle, launching herself down the stairs and to the hold's bottom level. Jayne had just given up on his barbells for the time being, and River took a position leaning against the bar with both hands, watching with a tell-tale grin as the two lovebirds strolled in.

"Good night?" she asked with interest.

Kaylee chuckled at her question, "Wonderful," she nodded to her young friend without giving too much away.

As close as the two girls were, River was still Simon's little sister, and some sense of modesty had to be kept around her.

* * *

The captain stood stretching his torso in front of a mirror. He was desperately trying to see if his recent gunshot wounds had left any bad marks. Not that he minded the scars he just didn't want something elaborately disabling.

Then it hit the captain...why was he checking this? Who was he checking these for? Hell. Throwing his arms down, he grabbed his shirt and threw it on. Pulling his suspenders back up he let them fall into place before leaving his bunk. The effect she could have on him was amazing.

Coming into the kitchen, he found Zoe pouring herself a drink.

"Might as well pour me one too," he said jerking a chair back and plopping down.

Zoe slid his cup across the table and he caught it quietly and nearly chugged the alcohol she had served him. Zoe watched with a hint of a smile.

* * *

"How much sex you gonna be havin' with the doctor, little Kaylee?" Jayne called out the question with a vulgar grin. "I don't think the man can even stand on his own two feet anymore. You gone done milked him dry."

Kaylee leaned into Simon's words, her eyes drawing closed in exhaustion, her lips drawing in a smirk. It was simply too comfortable in the doctor's arms. Her initial hopes were assured; Simon had obviously loosened up a bit on their date.

She rolled her eyes at Jayne's lewd comments. She and Simon had been together long enough to have long since become immune to the mercenaries callousness. Well...Kaylee felt that way at least. She held Simon close as she walked him past River and Jayne.

"I'm liable to have more'in this boy can take if you keep askin' me that," Kaylee smirked, just as happy to step up to the plate now that she was actually getting some. Her nails grazed beneath the untucked back of Simon's shirt as her head finally full completely against his shoulder.

Simon, on the other hand, wasn't too good with Jayne's comments. Relationship or not the man sometimes made Simon turn beat red. And that's exactly how the young man reacted. His face turned red and he turned towards Kaylee. It was more of a make him go away gesture. Kaylee fired back at the mercenary and Simon could lift his head up finally.

Her hand reassured him and he smiled brightly. "I say we grab food and go back to my room so I don't have to be around when the captain decides to play twenty questions like the scary surrogate big brother the man is," Simon grumbled.

It was true. Kaylee had two freakish fake big brothers. She had Mal and Jayne as much as he teased her he was there to protect her. After all who would be little Kaylee to him? It was obvious the only soft side that man had was for his guns and Kaylee.

Jayne's eyes were quick to follow the loving couple. He groaned and felt the need to actually vomit. He needed to visit one of his old "friends" and by friends he meant whores because in reality Jayne had none. Except maybe the crew.

His eyes went back to River and he shook his head. Then going to the couple who were leaving to go up. Jayne felt the need to ruin the moment by making things widely uncomfortable. This was Jayne, though. Always vulgar and trying to bust someone's happiness bubble.

Simon's smirk lifted upwards. She was worse than he was by far sometimes and that was one of the things he loved about her. She could get him to do things he would have been too scared to try. His eyes went over to his little sister as he noticed her standing near Jayne. That was a little bit strange. Considering it was Jayne.

"Morning River." He gave his sister a nod. He would have hugged her, but he pleasantly tangled up in Kaylee's grasp. He turned his head bending down to whisper in her ear. Soft flow of chinese greeting her. It was just him expressing a few things he didn't normally say in front of most folks. This way he could be a bit quieter by whispering it. He tightened his grip a bit and looked up innocent as could be. A bright smile on his face.

As they made their way up the stairs, Simon staggered some. It wasn't easy to walk like this plus with the shape they were in it was the worst. "I don't know. I'm kind of hungry. You ate all of our strawberries last night and the rest well..." He stopped not finishing his sentence there.

Kaylee giggled as Simon's suggestion, nodding as they stumbled up the stairs with him. "This I could definitely get used to," she smirked, stopping at the top of the stairs to kiss him softly. Of course, they wouldn't be on shore leave for long here on Prassus, but Kaylee was more than prepared to keep this vacation going as long as humanly possible. Though she had to admit, she missed the engine room something fierce.

* * *

Several messages had been sent between Inara and her intended guest, inviting him on board Serenity for the duration of their shore leave. She had suddenly found herself with the intense need to see him. The Companion sent over their location on Prassus, and as the two said their temporary goodbyes over the broadcast, Inara signed off the registry. She was not planning to return to it for quite some time.

Standing from her seat, the Companion made her way quickly across the catwalks above the hold, casting a quick glance down as Kaylee and Simon made their way back to the ship. She smirked at her young mechanic friend, glad to see that she was finding what little happiness one could in these trying times. Inara's own spirit had been brightened some by the prospect of a familiar face.

She made her way into the kitchen, where Mal and Zoe were taking part in a few drinks. Inara coughed, stepping up to Mal's side rather formally. "Morning, Captain."

Mal wasn't cheery. He was downright upset really. He had no job to do and he was just sitting. Like a bump on a log whatever that meant and it annoyed him. He wanted to be actively pissing off the Alliance. Not sitting on some planet watching his crew make out like bandits. That being Kaylee and Simon only. Plus Inara and her clients but that only the greeting hello and then he saw no more. Apparently him, Jayne and Zoe were odd men out in the love department. Mal hadn't exactly been that intimate with anyone in a year probably. Very unpleasant.

"Mornin'."

"I just wanted to let you know that I've invited a visitor on board. He'll be staying with me for the next few days." Her face remained stoic, as if she were trying extra hard to ignore last's night's events.

"During that time, I would request that my privacy be respected." She didn't bother asking if Mal had any objections; even if the captain did have an issue, Inara was not likely to care. She might have agreed with Mal's insisting that she not pay rent for a while longer, but it was still her shuttle, and she had the rights of a property owner in that respect. Meaning, she did not have to ask for permission.

He said not bothering to look up at her. But when she mentioned someone coming aboard his ship he stood up quite fast like. Stepping in close the captain kept his eyes on her. "What's this? It's one thing when your visitors are off my ship or senators, but havin' some guy come gallivanting on my ship I don't like."

Turning to Zoe for help. "I can't do much, can I?" She shook his head taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm afraid not sir." Mal's eyes narrowed and he sat again.

"Fine, but he better not get in my way. I'll be having to shoot him then."

Inara was satisfied as Mal reacted so harshly to her words. "Don't worry, Mal, I'll keep him away from you," she shot back at the captain harshly. "We'll be in my shuttle the majority of his stay, anyway."

She wasn't about to let Mal get his kicks by finding all sorts of fun ways to mock her personal life. He had no right, and who she chose to spend her time with was none of his business. Inara moved away from Mal, running her hand along the counter as she rounded it to stand beside Zoe.

"I'm sure you'll miss me terribly if I'm indisposed for a day or two," she smiled caustically, subconsciously unsure where all this hostility had shown up. She knew where her discomfort was from, but Mal gad no reason that she could think of to be so unpleasant.

He was upset that she could affect his mood this much. He had been down in his room checking his scars over to make sure they were "appropriate" for her. And then it dawned on him. He was doing that thing again. Getting his hopes up. Things never panned out. Hell she might leave again. The captains eyes went to Zoe and he watched his second in command steadily. If she gave away his secret he was gonna have to do something drastic.

Mal wouldn't admit it outloud, but he was a little bit uncomfortable with it all when Inara brought her customers on his ship. Jealous? Little bit actually. It was hard not to be. He looked down shaking his head in obvious discomfort. Getting up from his seat he poured himself another cup and raised it to the two.

"Miss you? It'll be a holiday. Have fun." He tipped the cup some and turned going off to the bridge. Zoe shook her head taking a sip of her drink.

She rolled her eyes with her back facing the good captain as he tried to get her riled up. "Oh, don't worry," Inara reassured him harshly, "I will."

She cast a semi-apologetic eye at Zoe, realizing how uncomfortable this must be for her to be in the middle of. Or how amusing, for that matter. Cooling down slightly, almost regrettably, she made her way down the hallway towards the main hold, coming face to face with Kaylee and Simon, on their way inside.

"Oh, morning, mei mei," she smiled weakly, placing a hand on the girl's free shoulder as she made her way out. "Get in and out quickly if I were you," she muttered under her breath, warning the young mechanic that Mal was in a mood today. A surprisingly recent turn of events. Of course, Inara would be lying if she claimed that she hadn't purposely fueled the argument, but still.

Kaylee nodded with a smile as Inara greeted her, having stormed out of the kitchen looking a bit shaken up.

"Morning, 'Nara," she smiled back cheerfully, the smile faltering a bit when Inara warned them both.

They parted ways, and Kaylee shook her head and made a face up at Simon. "Honestly, those two act just like a pair of fussy babies sometimes."

And that was typically on their good days. But Kaylee, along with everyone else on the gorram ship, knew that they were just lying to themselves. Both were too proud to admit that they liked each other, and that was that. Kaylee loved Inara and the Captain both to death, but if they didn't get over themselves soon, they'd both wind up miserable and lonely...and still driving each other crazy for the rest of their lives.

Simon was resting quite happily with Kaylee when they stumbled into Inara. He raised a confused brow, but he caught up suddenly.

"I'd rather not comment. Knowing Mal he's listening in and well you know." He said shaking his head as they stepped into the kitchen. His eyes went to Zoe who was standing quietly with a grin still.

Zoe hadn't minded much being in the middle of the fighting. It wasn't an uncommon thing. Those two fought all the time. Even when the fight didn't make much sense they'd keep on going. She gave the happy couple a nod and stayed where she was till she finished her drink. "I'd better check on the captain knowing him he'll fly us into a rock just to make her mad." She went off to the bridge.

Simon looked at Kaylee with a raised brow. "Is it just me or did the kitchen clear out a little quickly?"

Kaylee nodded, knowing full well that what Zoe suggested wasn't that far out of the grasp of the Captain when he got into those tiffs with Inara. The young mechanic smirked at Simon's observation, wrapping both arms around the boy's waist. "What? You mindin'?" She asked with a broad grin, kissing his neck before trailing up ever so slowly to his lips. At least they had a couple moments of peace.

Simon gave her a shrug and a smirk formed over his lips as she moved in closer kissing on him. He pulled back slowly from their kiss and shook his head. "Not so much anymore." He said leaning his head down to kiss her. With his luck River would come busting in or Jayne would make a wise crack, but silence covered him and he was more than happy to have it embrace the both of them.

One thing the doctor could never get tired of and that was kissing this here girl in his arms. Deepening it he moved in closer closing off whatever gap of space that was left. The doctor had learned to let go a little bit whenever he was with her. He let one hand rest on her waist dangerously close to going farther. The other went to dig into her hair.

Kaylee moaned softly into Simon's kiss, loving the warmth of his body as he pressed against hers. Every inch of her burned for him. Hell, the last night had done nothing to satiate her desire for the man in front of her. Kaylee's hands trailed up, wrapping around his neck and holding his lips firmly to her. She surfaced for air, leaning her forehead into his.

"Alright, Dr. Tam," she chuckled, grabbing Simon's wrinkled collar as she pulled him towards the pantry. "Let's get some food in your stomach and get you out of those ratty old clothes." Of course, Kaylee had no intention of getting him into any new clothes anytime soon, either.

* * *

_To be continued! Please R&R_

* * *

**Chinese Translation:**  
mei mei – little sister an endearment


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTICE: The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to to run with it!**

_Mal/Inara centric fic. When an old face from Inara's past arrives on Serenity, will Mal be able to handle the competition? Will the two finally be able to get over themselves and admit their feelings for one another? (Sequel to "Loyalties"...spoilers to prequel included!)_**  
**  
_Humor, smut, jealousy, with just a dash of angst thrown in later chapters to make things interesting. ;D Bask in the Mal/Inara-ness!  
_

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

The captain stepped into the bridge, taking a seat in the pilot's chair as he began his time honored tradition of mocking Inara when she wasn't looking. Lifting up his hands, he turned them both into his little puppets. Mal raised his left hand dubbing that Inara and his right himself.

_"I'm Inara and I think I'm just so pretty and graceful, but really I'm boring and I have bad hair."_ His voice went up high.

_"I'm Mal and I'm just so ruggid and good looking sometimes its hard to keep the women off me."_ His voice went deep.  
_  
"Oh my God I picked the wrong pigheaded weirdo to sell my breasts too. Save me Mal!"_

_"Just this once, but later you will ah...uh...rub my feet!"_ He bellowed.  
_  
"Alright. Shoot him you manly man. You saved me!" _With that he flung his left hand towards his right.

_"No need to thank me. It's what I do. Since I'm so terrifically strong and brave."_ He backed his right hand up making it tense up.

_"Oh your so hunky and I'm just so frumpy. Its hard to be me when I put on this act to be perfect. I really should fix my hair."_

"That you should, that you should..."

Jayne, who had left the tranquility of his weight bench, deciding he didn't want to be alone with the whack job around a big set of weights, felt he'd have a word with Mal. Moving through the corridors, he purposely ignored the kitchen, knowing the lovey couple would be in there. Coming into the cockpit, he found Mal talking and making hand puppets. He stood for a couple minutes in the doorway watching him.

"If your goin' crazy, do I get the ship?" Jayne asked, stepping inside. Mal jerked and spun around facing the other man.

"Jayne if I died you still wouldn't get this ship. What'd ya need?" He asked, spinning back around in his chair as he crossed his arms purposefully.

"Wonderin' when we was gonna take to leaving? I hate being on leave when I can't get myself a proper girl."

Mal glanced back at the mercenary, confused. "You're idea of a proper girl is one who you gotta pay... and we can't leave till Inara's new boytoy decides to show." He grumbled, facing the controls again.

"Wha? We gotta wait on her now? That just ain't fair, Mal. We's always waiting on Inara and her boys." He protested almost looking like he was gonna stomp like a child.

"Won't be long. Go wait in the hold. Lift some weights...better yet you wanna be of some use, you wait down there and when this guy comes you use the com and tell me. I wanna see who's traipsing around on my ship." With that, the Captain gave a nod and Jayne left.

* * *

Inara stepped along the catwalk, utterly steaming at the mere thought of Malcolm Reynolds. The nerve of that man! He infuriated her to no end. Staring hard ahead, she stomped across the walkway and up the small flight of steps to her shuttle entrance.

Stepping inside, she turned the corner, coming face to face with River. She bit back a scream, literally jumping back from the teenager. It took her a moment to get over the initial shock, but she took a deep breath, trying to relax herself.

"River, you startled me, honey," Inara breathed out, raising a hand to her chest.

River stared at her blankly for a moment. "Gan yu meng xiang..." River said nonchalantly, bumping gently passed Inara as she made her way out of the room.

The Companion's mouth dropped open in even more shock, knowing all too well what she was talking about. She'd almost hoped that River wasn't the special young lady that she was. Reading minds was one of the talents that Inara found most unpleasant about the girl. Her face now beet red, she huffed as she slid the door harshly behind her to close herself in.

* * *

Mal was quietly drumming his fingers on the front console. His legs on the ground having his feet gently push the chair rotating it, but stopping so he didn't fully turn. He heard Zoe before she was inside with him.

"Were not moving, just so you know." He said not bothering to look back at her. Zoe nodded and took up post next to Mal.

"What had you all steamed up and pouting in the kitchen?" She asked putting his hand on the captain's seat.

"Nothing. I'd rather not talk about my behavior. If you wanna badger someone try Inara. 'Oh yeah Mal I forgot to tell you how I'm bringing one of my suck up cry baby clients onto your ship.'" He was mocking her again, yes. But it wasn't uncommon coming from Malcolm Reynolds.

"So you're not upset at all, I see." Zoe said rolling her eyes and backing up. She took a seat in the second chair and put her feet up on the console side glancing at Mal.

* * *

Jayne was slow to move all the way through the ship. Coming back to the upper catwalks of the main hold, he heard a shuttle door close loudly. Turning towards the sound, he found it coming from Inara's shuttle and River coming his way. Something the girl had said must have upset her.

River smirked as the door to Inara's shuttle slammed shut. That woman needed to get her cage rattled a bit, from what River observed. She knew that she unnerved people when she revealed that she knew what they dreamed. But Inara was just so obvious.

Jayne gave a snicker and passed River. He gave her a nudge with his elbow and took the stairs all the way down to the hold.

She caught the glimpse of Jayne traipsing down the stairs, and she followed him silently in bare feet.

Instead of taking a seat at the weight bench he plopped down on the bottom step. He pulled his knife from his boot and held it up in front of his eyes. He dug out his rag from his pocket and started the cleaning of it. He was watching for the pretty boy Mal mentioned.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, River hopped over the railing, landing beside Jayne with only the metal standing between them. She glanced at the weights from the corner of her eye.

"Need a spotter?" she asked, leaning on the railing as she stared at Jayne questioningly. She seemed genuinely curious, as if she actually wanted to spend time with the burly mercenary.

Jayne was sharpening the blade on the railing when he heard River. He looked up and then back at his knife. Running the rag across the cold steel. Placing his knife bath in his boot he put the rag in his pocket. Standing up he eyed the girl. She did have some strength and some moves. It wouldn't hurt.

"If you drop it on me you better believe I'll hold your dear brother hostage." Jayne was smart enough to know he couldn't take her. He wasn't an idiot. Most days at least. Going over he plopped down his back to the weights and lay backwards. Moving directly under them he put his arms upward wrapping his hands around the steel bar. He waited on River to hover over head. Once he saw her face he removed the weight from the cradle and pushed it upwards. His muscles tightening.

* * *

Little more than an hour later, River was now lying back on the bench, pressing a good 90 pounds on the bar. She counted silently to herself, now on number 23. She'd barely broken into a sweat. River was quite a tiny girl, but the tinkering with her brain by the Alliance had endowed her with a heightened endorphin releasing reaction in her brain, and well as enhanced adrenaline control in her brain. She could focus her mind enough to perform incredible feats for one so deceivingly fragile and weak. So, for a seventeen year old girl, she had the potential to get pretty ripped. She hit number 30, and lifted the bar up to its rack, letting it drop back down with a crash. River slid into a sitting position as she heard footsteps coming up Serenity's ramp. Of course, she'd been aware of them for several minutes beforehand, now.

From the open hatch, a young man in his early twenties stepped into the cargo hold, hands in the pockets of his worn and rugged yet obviously costly leather jacket. Despite his clean appearance - hair short and styled neatly – the stranger still had the look of someone more in step with the crew's lifestyle than say, Simon. He caught sight of Jayne and River bench pressing, and stepped up to them with a friendly wave.

"Excuse me," he said with a polite smile, "I'm, uh, looking for Inara Serra? I was told she resided on this ship?"

Kaylee stepped out onto the catwalk, and apple clutched in her fingers as she munched away on it noisily. She'd left Simon, utterly worn out yet blissfully satisfied, sleeping in his bunk. She was still awfully hungry. Smiling with contentment, Kaylee took a large bite out of the fruit, glancing down at River and Jayne with interest. Seemed like they were getting along famously...in some disturbing way.

Her head perked up as the boy entered the cargo bay. She smirked, assuming that this could be none other than Inara's mystery man that they'd heard rumbling off not too long ago.

Jayne had become quite impressed with the girls power and strength. She was a very tricky little girl. He was pretty stunned at the first five reps she did the rest he had gotten used to it. Without giving her a hand she had put it away and sat up. Jayne stood back with a smirk.

He was suddenly alerted of the man's entrance. He jerked and dug the black walkie from his pocket he had been holding. Trying his best to clutch it he hurried and radioed Mal with his back to the man. Sliding it into his pocket he turned back around to face him.

"You must be her new boytoy." He moved past River putting on his best intimidating face he could muster. On his way over Jayne removed the knife from the sheath under the back of his shirt. Holding it up he stood close to the boy staring down at him. "What's your name?" He asked glaring down into his eyes.

"Listen, I...I don't want any trouble," The young man lifted his hands up in defense. River watched the scene with little interest.

"She's been waiting for you," River commented with a smirk. "But he's been waiting for her much longer." Her cryptic words were muted as River took a long drink from Jayne's water bottle, wandering off towards the infirmary bay doors.

The young newcomer stared at her in confusion, a lost smile crossing his face. "Ok..." But Jayne's proximity brought him back into a sense of danger. Maybe this wasn't where Inara was...

Inara heard the familiar voice echoing through the hold, as well as the commotion outside, and she stood up from her settee, pushing her sliding door open with a little effort. She stepped out of her shuttle, noticing Mal and Kaylee out of the corner of her eye, but not entirely paying attention to them at the moment. Resting her hands on the ledge, she stared down at the young man with a shocked smile. She hadn't' seen him in so long, she almost didn't recognize him.

"Feyden?"

The young man lifted his head, and smiled in relief. "Hello Inara," he replied warmly.

Inara felt he huge burden of waiting lift from her as she ran her hand along the bar on the railing. "Feyden Karan, I never imagined to see you here."

He followed her movements with reverent interest. "I heard you were planet side. Thought I'd stop by. Glad I caught you before your crew left."

* * *

Mal had almost fallen asleep up in the bridge, but the sound of Jayne's voice in his ear made him jerk awake. Zoe glanced back at the captain, confused. Jayne must have told him. She found it amusing, watching the captain leap from his chair and race out of the bridge.

Mal jumped the stairs down into the kitchen. He was moving fast for a man who usually took things slow. He slowed once he felt he was close enough to the main hold. He caught his breath and stood behind a corner.

He smoothed his shirt out and fixed his suspenders. Putting on his captainy look, he cleared his throat. He strolled out quietly and that's when he noticed Kaylee. Taking up a post beside her, he leaned forward putting his elbows on the railing and letting his arms dangle out over the edge. He watched with a smile as Jayne stepped up to make the man nervous. A chuckle escaped him.

"That him?" He asked side glancing at Kaylee nervously. He didn't exactly want Jayne intimidating strangers who could pay them.

Kaylee heard rustling down the steps, but kept her eyes on the stranger who'd just come aboard. She smirked without looking at Mal as he tried to nonchalantly enter the catwalk.

"Seems so," Kaylee nodded cheerfully. "He's quite a looker, ain't he?" She mused with another small bite of her apple. It was just an innocent observation. And besides, just cause she was spoken for didn't mean she couldn't admire.

Mal did a side long glare at Kaylee. "You know just cause you're a good mechanic don't mean I can't kick you off my boat."

Mal had no intention of doing that, but he wasn't about to hear about this guys good looks. Jayne seemed to back off some hearing Inara. Lord knew the bigger man hated her fits when she was upset with him. He slipped his knife into its sheath and went to his weight bench. Mal on the other hand stayed watching the two with a hint of dislike in his eyes. He was jealous, but the captain wasn't about to go telling everybody.

Rushing down the stairs in an uncharacteristic fashion, Inara trotted across the floor toward him. Feyden immediately opened his arms to the Companion, wrapping her in a big hug, which she accepted and returned with equal enthusiasm.

"He's not as good looking as me right?" He asked watching the two of them hug. She hugged him! Inara didn't hug like that. She was curtsey and be proper lady. Oh boy this was going to be the absolute worst day ever. Hell he was staying longer than that which irritated Mal more. He turned nudging Kaylee quite hard, but he didn't really notice.

Kaylee glanced sidelong at Mal as he ranted about Inara. Talk about paranoid. Kaylee rolled her eyes at Mal's questioning, but decided to play it safe. "Of course not, Cap'n," Kaylee humored him was a pat on the back. "You're probably the damn near prettiest man I've ever laid eyes on...but sadly I'm already spoken for," she teased, crunching on the apple piece floating in her mouth.

"Wu liu tian shi," Feydan groaned with a chuckle as he held Inara in a tight embrace, lifting her off the ground for a moment. The Companion giggled softly, breaking out into full on, infectious laughter as she was placed back on the ground after a few spins in Feyden's grasp. Removing his hands from around her waist, he lifted them to frame her face gently. "If it's possible you look more radiant than ever."

Her expression softened, raising a brow incredulously. "Xiao gui," she muttered back teasingly, pulling him in to another affectionate hug. They kissed cheeks, and pulling back after a moment, Inara lifted a hand to trace the young man's cheek in a loving manner. "How are you?" She asked with a quietly concerned expression.

Feydan placed his own hand delicately on top of hers. "Better...now." He pulled away, offering his arm to her formally.

"She giggled." He protested in a low hiss. "She doesn't giggle. You think this is some companion gag? Maybe he gets all hot under the collar with this kind of attention..." He trailed off watching his eyes glued on the scene.

Below, Inara shook her head with a modest grin, hooking her arm into his. "Run-tse duh fwe-tzoo, what are you doing here? Last I heard, you were on Sihnon."

He glanced up at the ship, politely studying it. "Well you know, plans change. Life goes on."

"They do seem close now, don't they," Kaylee observed, not at all fazed by the implication that Inara had an old flame visit. It was an adorable change of pace for the usually cool and collection young lady.

"They're practically going through foreplay in my hold!" Mal yelped to Kaylee.

"Oh, don't make such a fuss about it, Cap'n. They're just bein' friendly. Know that might be a foreign conept to ya..." Resting her chin on her free hand, Kaylee watched dreamily as Inara reunited with the mysterious Feyden. He seemed nice, she thought with a grin, but her thoughts were interrupted as Mal snatched her apple right out from her hand.

Reaching over he jerked her apple from her hand. "I need this more than you."

"Hey!" She complained, reaching out for the fruit, but it was too late.

The captain wasn't thinking as he launched his arm forward and sent the apple sailing towards the touchy couple. Reaching out, Kaylee caught empty air as it soared through the air, striking Feyden jacket shoulder. When Mal realized what he had done he turned to glare at Kaylee.

"Kaylee!" He said quite loudly. "I told you to throw away your trash I didn't mean that litterally!" He shouted shaking his head. "Sometimes..." He rounded her and went down the catwalk.

Kaylee stared hard at the Captain, her mouth wide in shock and insult. "Me? Why'd ya go and take my apple for..." Mal stalked off before she could finish, and in a huff, she crossed her arms, now glaring down as the Captain wandered off to introduce himself.

Feyden, feeling the soft impact, glanced down with a surprise chuckle and picked up the apple, glancing up at Kaylee. "You missed, wai maoer," He waved the half-eaten fruit in her direction.

Inara's expression was not quite as forgiving, catching Mal's tone immediately as he tried to blame the hurling projectile on Kaylee. The Companion's eyes were cold and furious, and she bore a hole through Malcolm Reynolds as he moved towards the stairs.

Mal took it easy as he went down them trying not to seem so eager. When he reached the floor of the main hold, he dusted his hands off on his pants, extending one to Feyden.

"Malcolm Reynolds...captain of this here ship." He added with a hint of a smile.

Feyden hadn't noticed the expressions that the crew were exchanging, and graciously extended his hand to the Captain. "Pleasure to meet you Captain. I'm Feyden Karan." He glanced over at Inara, the raging fire in her gaze clearly evident. Feyden coughed involuntarily. "I take it Inara's never mentioned me before."

Inara's face remained stoic. "Never came up," she mentioned coolly. The message behind her eyes was a mystery to all by Mal. It was one he'd seen many a time, easily read by him as, Don't you even think of making a fool out of me, Malcolm Reynolds, or so help me, you will live to regret ever being conceived. But on the outside, Inara was the picture of calm.

Mal's concern wasn't upstairs towards Kaylee, but it was directed on this Feyden character. What kinda name was that anyways? Hell it wasn't a name. Sounded more like a planet or something dumb like that. Now Malcolm, that was a strong name. A real one. One people named their normal children. Maybe he wasn't normal...maybe he had a tail? Oh that'd be perfect.

He almost snapped, but his hand was being held by Feyden's now. As they shook hands Mal added some pressure. Actually quite a bit. You could see obviously see the blood rush from the young mans hand. He stared hard into his eyes, but the entire time he had a smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you." He glanced at Inara and paid no mind to her evil eye. Mal didn't listen to her before, so why would that change now? "Not a peep from the old girl about you, I'm afraid. But our dear Inara was always a bit too busy with her clients and such. Running amuck with female senators and rich little men. You know. Having herself a ball." He let the man's hand go and stood back. Putting his hands on his waists. "Right...let me introduce that big ole scary man who had the knife."

With that introduction Jayne's head lifted up from what he was currently occupying his time with. Getting up he strolled over putting his hands on his belt. Jayne just liked scaring new people. This wasn't him help get revenge with Mal it was just him being Jayne. He looked the kid up and down and sneered. "Looks real tiny. You think he'll go far?" He asked glancing to Mal.

"I don't know. You could get the cannon and we could try it out. You wanna play a game, Freyden?" He asked tilting his head.

"Nah Mal. I don't think he'll go more then ten yards. Too light. Now Jimmy he went far." Jayne stated reaching behind him to remove his weapon from the sheath. "You think if I cut that there right ear off we could get some money from Badger." Mal gave Jayne a swat to the stomach chuckling lightly.

"Down Jayne. You know we don't cut off body parts from folks...that is awake." He gave him a innocent smile and raised his eyebrows. "Now you two crazy kids have some fun. Inara by the way Zoe done got those sheets of yours cleaned up. That gook came right out, but the brown spot was a might bit of trouble you can hardly tell its there."

Jayne backed up and went off snickering holding his knife. Mal gave the two of them the brightest smile he could muster up. Boy, was he having a good time with this. He turned his back on them, but stopped spinning around his heels.

"Oh damn I almost forgot. 'Nara the doctor told me in the kitchen what you thought you caught from the big bald guy its not a problem. Theres itching, but otherwise your golden. Have fun." He gave his head a tilt and backed up.

As they made their way up the stairs, Inara tried her best to remain calm, but with Mal and Jayne's comments, her mind steamed with all manner of unseemly curses in both Chinese and English and any other languages that she could muster up in silence. Inara had some tolerance when it came to Mal's screwing around, honestly she did. But that ever diminishing amount of patience was about to run out.

About to? Hell, she'd been running on empty for the last twenty miles. At this point, she had a mind to ask Jayne how much it would cost to borrow his knife for a few minutes.

"I'm really sorry, Feyden. The Captain can be a bit of a...louse, I suppose would be the best term. Jayne... doubling so." she scoffed, letting the mood lighten a bit. "Please don't pay any attempt to the rabble rousers."

Feyden laughed quietly, amused by how uncomfortable Inara was with all this. He liked to think of himself as a good judge of character, and he could sense friendly teasing when he heard it. "Relax, Inara, I don't mind. They were just trying to rattle thing up a little, is all. I'm sure they're nice guys once I get to know them."

"Gou kou bu chu xiangya," she hissed out as they reached the top of the stairs.

Kaylee trotted up from her spot against the railing, shooting her hand out energetically towards Feyden. "Name's Kaylee," she let out cheerily. Anxiously, she scratched the side of her neck as she tried to think of something else to say. "Sorry bout the apple," she glared down at the captain subtly.

Feyden took her hand gently, kissing the top of her palm. Kaylee blushed to the roots of her hair. "Wonderful to meet you Kaylee."

Inara was relieved to find at least one friendly voice on board. "Kaylee is a very dear friend of mine," she explained with a warmer smile at the young mechanic. Kaylee beamed at her admission.

"Well, I'm even happier to meet you, then," Feyden countered with a wide, shining grin.

* * *

Simon had been blissfully asleep for most of the day. He was enjoying his rest after his "recreations" with Kaylee. He had to admit the girl had some stamina. Finally he rolled over to find that she wasn't in bed with him anymore.

Yawning, he sat up, his hair tussled and eyes bright and looking for his lover. Nothing. Reaching over onto the floor he found his shirt. Simon wasn't one to wear used clothes unless he had to. Picking it up the doctor folded it neatly and put it on his chair. He went to his clothes and plucked a fresh clean white shirt. He shrugged it on and buttoned it up. Quietly he smoothed it out and grabbed a vest.

Slinging that on, he buttoned it and straightened it. He took worn pants off the floor and slung it over the back of the chair. He grabbed a fresh pair and slipped them on. Tucking his shirt in, he buttoned and zipped. Changing his socks he pulled his shoes on. The doctor smoothed his hair down. Pushing it back with some water from the sink outside his room he smiled accepting himself. Better.

He checked the kitchen not finding her there. Putting his hands behind his back he checked the corridors and the engine room. Nothing. Next best place was the main hold. Strolling onto the catwalk he let his hands fall. There at the top of the stairs was Kaylee, Inara and a man. He wasn't intimidated or easily put in a pressure situation as Mal. He put on his best smile and made his way over. He showed no signs of worry. Just happiness and ease.

"New friend?" He asked glancing between the three.

* * *

Mal was less than thrilled about this guy's arrival. He stood in the main hold, watching them walk up hand and hand happy. Mal stuck his hands in his pockets and his face took on a sadder expression. He was more upset than he'd tell anyone. Looking down, he nodded. He was no dummy. He got the point. He was just feeling a bit upset about it all. He had been spending a lot of time with Inara since he was getting better from the wounds. He just got used to her company and such. He figured now it was time for her to return to her life.

Mal just wasn't feeling like himself anymore. No more bubbling. Sulking probably. Looking up once more there was Simon and Kaylee being nice to this guy. That was just enough. With a huff he went to the staircase. He was going to go whine to Zoe she'd listen and least then he didn't feel as bad about it.

He pushed passed the foursome and without so much as a look back or a glance the captain disappeared from sight. He was moving at a slow speed to the bridge. He wasn't sure he wanted to stick around and watch her make eyes at her new boy. He wanted to be as far away from whatever noise they'd be making as he could get.

* * *

To Be Continued...Please Read and Review!

* * *

**Chinese Translation:**

wu liu tian shi my lovely angel

xiao gui little demon an endearment

Run-tse duh fwe-tzoo Merciful Buddha

Gan yu meng xiang Dare to dream

wai maoer mischievous child

gou kou bu ch"u xiangyá "Nice words won't come from a bad source."


	4. Chapter 4

**NOTICE: The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to to run with it!**

_Mal/Inara centric fic. When an old face from Inara's past arrives on Serenity, will Mal be able to handle the competition? Will the two finally be able to get over themselves and admit their feelings for one another? (Sequel to "Loyalties"...spoilers to prequel included!)_**  
**  
_Humor, smut, jealousy, with just a dash of angst thrown in later chapters to make things interesting. ;D Bask in the Mal/Inara-ness!  
_

* * *

**CHAPTER4**

Inara lay back on the silk burgundy coverlet adorning her bed, laughing out loud for the first time in a very long while. Feyden was seated across the mattress from her, equally overcome with laughter as they shared amusing stories from their time as children.

"And you call me a demon!" Feyden insisted with a chuckle. "The looks that you got from the training house instructors when you went barreling in there..."

Inara shook her head, pointing at the young man sharply. "Now, _you're _the one that brought up the dare in the first place! You're just as at fault for that damage as I was! You didn't have to follow me in, you know."

"No of course not," he shot back sarcastically. "Not after you threatened me."

Inara's mouth gaped open in shock. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She bit back a guilty grin.

Feyden eyed her critically. "Don't give me that. Back in the day, you were quite the rotten little zhao shi zhe!" Inara quickly lifted herself up on her elbows, smacking the boy ruthlessly in the arm. "Ow!" He yelped out with a smirk, rubbing the sore spot on his arm gently. "Still as violent as ever, I see," he muttered with a smirk.

Inara rested her cheek against her hand, looking up at Feyden from her spot on the bed. They let themselves calm down after a little while, and a relaxed silence filled the room. Feyden caught the stillness in her expression, and lifted a hand to brush several strands of her ebony hair from her face.

"Seems as though it's been far too long since you were able to laugh like that."

Inara narrowed her eyes at him jokingly. "Am I that transparent?" she asked with a laugh.

"Only to me," Feyden insisted softly.

Inara conceded that fact with a nod. "Things have been...difficult. We've lost good friends recently. A blow not all of us have healed from." Though for some, like Zoe, Inara doubted healing would ever recover completely.

* * *

Since leaving, Mal had taken to hiding in the bridge. He whined a bit to Zoe, and then she stopped speaking once he went over the edge a bit. Mal had his feet on the console, pushing the chair in half circles and then back again. He was upset and he hated feeling this way. This was not like Mal. Mal didn't pine and mope in a chair. Throwing out a frustrated growl, he got up to his feet. He hit a few buttons on the console and let his eyes shift to Zoe, was reading quietly in the other chair.

"You hungry?" He asked it almost sounded like another grunt. She shook her head and Mal nodded turning his back to her. He stooped down and went down through the cockpit into the kitchen.

Things had settled down considerably, and now most of the crew was relaxing in the kitchen and living area. Kaylee and Simon had ended up in the small round nook off to the side of the dining table, talking and laughing as the hour wore on. The young doctor was perched in one of the round chairs in the circle, smirking down at Kaylee, sitting comfortably on the floor between his legs.

"Well, Feyden seems like a real nice fella," she said happily, looking out at the kitchen with as she leaned her head against the inside of Simon's thigh. Her hands tugged at the bottom of his pant leg playfully, enjoying the comfort of their close contact.

Mal heard chatter off to the side, but chose to ignore it. He didn't even want to eat. It only occurred to him as he was stuffing some food into his mouth. Chewing, he swallowed the best he could and glanced back once he heard Kaylee mention how nice this Feyden guy was. He snorted slightly pouring himself a drink.

Simon had taken a liking to casual and light conversation. Back in the old days Simon didn't have much time for this. He had been a fancy doctor. He had people to save and superiors to impress. Then all his time switched to figuring out what happened to his sister. Then for the better part of a year his life focused on River entirely. Keeping her safe. Trying to help her get better. Trying to keep her out of the trouble that seemed to stalk them through the galaxy.

"Yeah. Its nice to have someone else on the ship who won't threaten me with a pistol or an incredibly large knife." A chuckle escaped him and he looked out at the kitchen. The tug on his pants didn't go unnoticed. He gave her a nudge with the tip of his shoe. He noted the Captain's presence and a snort that came from him. "Problem?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nah nothing. I'm just surprised you two buy into his little nice guy routine. You obviously ain't lookin' close enough." He said shaking his head. Turning to face them, he took a long sip of his drink and finally a sigh escaped him. "I'm just worried about Inara bein' all alone with him."

Kaylee squirmed when Simon poked her, giggling quietly at him as she squeezed his leg back. Mal came sulking into the kitchen, and Kaylee rolled her eyes at his accusations against Inara's friend.

"Aw, come on Cap'n. Feyden wouldn't hurt anyone. Specially not Inara. They've known each other since they were little." The few moments they had been able to spend with Inara had given them that much information about the boy. They'd lived much of their childhood on Sihnon together near the Companion Training House before she was recruited.

"I think you're a little threatened by him..." she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Simon to hear.

"Fei hua." Mal muttered looking down into his cup. He was hoping he'd just fall right in and drown, but there was no such look. His eyes drifted upwards to find Kaylee.

* * *

River silently laid down underneath the dinner table, her head between the legs of the end chair. She silently listened to the conversation going on, deciding to simply sit back and watch the adults work this out on their own. It wasn't as if there was anything she could say that would make them act more mature than they were proving themselves to be. But then again, River was a typical, meddling seventeen-year-old girl.

With a silent smirk, she writhed from underneath the table, making her way over to the counter beside Mal. Hopping up on the counter, she scanned the basket of food beside her.

"She couldn't stop daydreaming," River muttered, grabbing a roll of bread and biting into it.

Mal did a glance sideways when he heard River. It occurred to him she had been under the table. Why? She got weirder by the minute. He shook his head mid sip when he heard what she had to say. Mal choked and turned spitting out his drink. Lifting his arm up he wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve.

"Gwon nee tze-jee duh shr." He muttered, stalking past her and heading out to leave the kitchen. He stopped next to Kaylee and Simon leaning in.

Simon was very amused by the captain's attitude towards this new male being on board. He seemed so on edge. He didn't hide his jealousy very well. Even Simone had seen the signs.

His eyes went down to Kaylee as the captain rambled on. River coming out from under the table wasn't a big surprise. He had gotten used to her popping up in strange places. Watching her waltz over to Mal and speak he choked back a laugh and looked down. Mal seemed very upset and stomped off, leaving Kaylee with some final words.

"Just so were clear little Kaylee I ain't threatened by nobody." Catching her look of surprise he shrugged. "The captain, remember? I hear it all."

Kaylee just smirked, shrugging her shoulders as Simon stared at her, as if to ask just how the captain managed to do things like that.

Finally, Simon looked up at his sister raising an eyebrow. "River...who does she daydream about?" He asked.

As the Captain hustled out of the kitchen, River shot of a Cheshire grin at her brother, hopping off the counter and taking a seat at the dinner table. _Wouldn't he like to know. _River loved the fact that the Captain was spazzing out about Inara's new friend. Or rather old friend.

Kaylee caught the look from the girl, and smirked with excitement. "Simon, I believe your little sister here is schemin' against our beloved Captain," she accused, leaning back against Simon's leg as she readjusted to sit on her legs.

* * *

Mal left the kitchen doing down to the corridor. He was heading to Inara's shuttle. Snooping? Maybe? He was halfway into the main hold when he felt Jayne slam into him. "Watch where you're going Jayne..."

Trailing off he stopped the bigger man. "You wanna make Inara endlessly pissed off at us and in the process ruining her time with this new guy?" Jayne eyed him cautiously. He shrugged and nodded. Mal grinned and headed back towards Inara's shuttle.

The both of them crept slowly to the doors. Mal was stealth Jayne not so much so he opted to open the doors with as much quiet force as he could muster up. Staying out of the sight the two of them stood listening.

The tone between Inara and Feyden had shifted considerably from the laughter from earlier. Inara remained sprawled out on the bed, but she had gotten him to start talking about the real reason that he'd contacted her.

"I didn't think it would hurt this much," Feyden said quietly, glancing over his shoulder as Inara watched him silently. He sat on the edge of the bed, hands tensed as he wrung them together. "A grown man should be able to deal with losing someone he loves. But I've been lost. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing with myself." Feyden ran his hands through his hair roughly, obviously upset.

Inara scooted over to him, running a hand along the boy's back and resting her chin in the crook of his neck. "Feyden, no one's ever ready to let go." Her sagely advice slowly faded into her own shade of uncertainty. "I'm not doing so well myself," she commented softly. Feyden didn't respond, head resting in his hands. Inara wracked her brain for something more that she could say.

"Please accept my offer, Feyden," she pleaded with him, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "You know I would do anything to help you, especially now. Let me help you ease through this."

"Inara, I can't ask you to jeopardize what little you have here already." Inara backed off slightly, shocked by the comment. Feyden looked back at her with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, but you know what I mean. It's not like the Alliance has been kind to you since you've signed up with that crook of a captain."

She shot him a disapproving eye. "That's not fair, Feyden..."

"Why? You've called him worse tonight."

"Dao yi you dao," she muttered begrudgingly, standing from her spot on the bed. "Mal can be a good man... when he tries hard enough."

"Doesn't seem like he's offered you much by way of compensation. Not for what he's drug you into the last year."

"It's not about payment," she insisted, turning around to face him.

"Then why are you still here, Inara?"

She couldn't muster up an answer, going silent. At her reaction, Feyden stood up, walking up to meet her. They stood face to face, his arms reaching up to grasp her hands.

"Inara, I love you, you know that. I only want the best for you."

She met his gaze in mild annoyance. "You don't think I can figure that out on my own?"

"I don't think he gives you enough air to breathe and make your own decisions." He was only being honest.

Mal had taken to resting his head against the wall while listening in. This new guy wasn't exactly Mal's biggest fan apparently and Mal couldn't blame the guy. He seemed to have Trouble stamped on his forehead from birth. Hell couldn't even help his mother in time of need. Times like these he sort of missed Shadow. Jayne was hardly listening, but what he did hear he didn't much care for.

This ruttin' new guy was mocking their lifestyle. He balled his fists up and switched his eyes to Mal. Mal was peeking out into the room the best he could. He sucked in a sharp breath and leaned back out of sight. Mal stood lazily arms crossed over his chest. His head cocked to one side as he tried to look like he was fine with all of this.

He wasn't doing Inara no good having her hang around his ship. She was respectable and she had a reputation that meant a great deal to her. Mal was only tarnishing it. He shook his head and threw Jayne a glance. Turning his back on Jayne he headed out onto the catwalk.

Jayne who had been contemplating bashing this mans head in noticed Mal's face. He looked a might bit upset. Jayne wasn't as stupid as most took him for. He could sense how Mal was feeling. The guy was insulting him in private and that couldn't be fun to listen to. Mal took off and Jayne stepped forward.

* * *

Inara smiled quietly at Feyden. "I appreciate your concern, really, but..."

"Mal! Mal! Where ya going?" A familiar gruff voice sounded from just outside the shuttle.

Inara's head snapped towards the door, mouth gaping slightly as she recognized Jayne's voice. What in the world was going on? She stepped away from Feyden, making her way over to the slightly cracked door. Inara hadn't heard it open, but as she placed a hand on the door, watching as Jayne stood shocked across the catwalk several feet away, she realized what had happened. The bulking mercenary's words sunk in, and Inara's stomach sank suddenly.

"Feyden..." she muttered over her shoulder. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" The boy nodded quietly, and she hurried out of the room and across the walkway. She pushed passed Jayne, steadily making her way into the kitchen.

* * *

Mal had disappeared inside the corridors. The captain slipped quietly back into the kitchen not saying much to anyone else. Jerking a wooden chair back the captain plopped his ass down and removed his weapon from the holster. Laying it before him Mal flicked it open and grabbed a rag from the table. He started the process of cleaning it. A stone cold look plastered on his face.

Simon's eyes stayed on his sister. She knew something that no one else knew. It was kind of a strange way for his sister to act, but then again she was seventeen and they did tend to toy with most folks. Looking down at Kaylee when she said River was toying with Mal. He smiled brighter and shook his head. "Its almost like when we were children." He was about to rise up and go speak with her, but the captain all about busted into the room. His movements were stiff and his face the same. He took a seat quickly and got to clean his weapon. Simon threw a confused look at Kaylee. Something was up.

Kaylee, Simon, and River had been having a good laugh at the expense of the captain, but within little time, Jayne's voice echoed through the corridor and into the kitchen. The three looked up as Mal suddenly rambled back into the kitchen, wearing the most depressed face that Kaylee had ever seen on anyone, let alone the captain. She was about to ask him if something was wrong, but decided to keep her mouth shut.

She glanced up at Simon, a worried frown growing on her expression. Groaning to her feet, she walked around behind the young doctor, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek, whispering into his ear.

"Maybe we should go," she muttered softly, nodding off in the direction of Mal, who didn't seem at all up to chatting. There was no question about what had him so frazzled, but then again, the crew was never the liveliest place for personal issues to be discussed.

Inara paused at the doorway, seeing that the room was filling up. Inara froze as her eyes trailed to Mal. After several moments, she stepped down into the main floor of the kitchen, arms folded defensively.

"Hear anything interesting?" she asked thoughtfully.

As Kaylee tugged gently on Simon's shirt for him to stand, Inara entered the room, apparently shaken from something. "Ok, we should definitely go," she insisted with a hushed whisper.

River sat comfortably on her seat, watching the scene unfold as she munched on the bread in her hand. She had no intention of moving from her spot, not while things were just getting interesting. Kaylee wanted to leave, but River knew that any confrontation between Mal and Inara was delightfully awkward.

"Ye chang meng duo," River reassured the couple smugly, hooking her legs underneath her.

Mal was breathing the best way he could without his chest heaving up too much. He couldn't hide it though. His breathing was rigid. Very weird. The captain licked his lips slowly as he cleaned away at the metal. Hearing footsteps and Inara's voice he didn't bother to look up. No use. If he was such a bad person for her to be hanging out with maybe she should be here.

Simon didn't exactly know what was wrong, but he had a feeling it had to do with Inara who came storming in next. He got up as Kaylee urged and managed to divert his eyes to his little sister. "River I think you should come with me and Kaylee. I think the captain and Inara would like time alone."

At that Mal's head popped up. "No we don't need time alone." He said tilting his head to one side rubbing the rag along the butt of the gun.

"Still. Come on River. Kaylee will play Jacks with you if you want I'll play too." Simon offered with a smile as he went to the doorway. He didn't want to leave his sister behind in this environment. For one Mal was just scary when upset and Inara well different story, but still kind of scary.

Kaylee herself was a little hesitant to leave as the discussion began, if only out of curiosity, but her sense of modesty returned slightly, and she resumed her march out the side entrance. The captain and Inara definitely needed some space for whatever was about to go down.

Looping her arm inside Simon's, she gently led the doctor, slowly followed by his little sister, out into the hallway to head into the passenger dorms. Though she had to admit, it was always hard to relax and ignore the two fighting when a storm of immeasurable proportions was so obviously about to settle in.

River pouted slightly as Simon insisted that she leave with them. Though as much as she hated to admit it, she supposed that her brother was right. The two were only going to go at it like cats and dogs. Nothing out of the ordinary in that.

All the while watching the scene unfold between Mal and Inara, River stood from her seat, distractedly following her brother and Kaylee back to the personal quarters. The girl didn't suspect that anything entirely interesting would happen. Though she'd be ready if it did.

* * *

Jayne hadn't done much when Inara came rushing past. He however was now getting new ideas. With a scowl his eyes went to the doorway. Jayne reached behind him removing the knife from his sheath. With a crooked smile he moved across the catwalk quietly. Into Inara's shuttle he moved until he stood in silence watching the boy.

Feyden watched with confusion as Inara left him alone in the shuttle. What had just happened? His question was partially answered by the lumbering arrival of Jayne into the room. Feyden instinctively back off, knowing full well that this thug was both happy and willing to slit his throat.

"I get the feeling you don't like my kind very much. We may not be a whole hell of a lot, but least we make our own money. What about you, pretty boy..." He edged closer to the bed. "You ever worked so hard you had to kill a man to reach a payday? I have. Now you see down there Mal he was kidding about everything. Me not so much. I still will cut that goofy looking ear off while your asleep." He brought the knife up to his own throat pretending to slice it. "Or maybe more. We're trouble, but we look out for each other. Now I'm thinking that if maybe Reavers or something popped up you'd be the first to go out the airlock doors to lose some weight."

"Listen, friend, I don't want any trouble. I have no quarrel with you, or your captain. I'm...I'm only looking out for Inara's best interests." He thought for a moment to find himself a weapon lying around somewhere, but he quickly decided against it, figuring that it would only insight more violence from Jayne. And he sure seemed to be itching for it.

Jayne wasn't taking much to whatever this guy had to say. Cause as long as he was insulting the place where he lived and the people he lived with it didn't mean much. Then again he wasn't too close with Mal considering they always fought and Jayne would turn on him for enough money. But right now in this moment Jayne was mighty pissed off at this mans words.

"Best interests right...hell where you been the past couple years. You been lookin' after your own damn interest is what. Was you lookin' for Inara when we was fightin' off those gorram reavers? No. That was us. This ship you ain't so fond of. We was doin' that." Jayne drew closer till he loomed over the smaller man. "Stand up straight. I hate to kill a man who's slouchin'."

"I didn't mean to insult you. Or your crew," Feyden insisted with sincere fear in his eyes. But he couldn't help but be insulted by Jayne's insinuation. "How was I supposed to know what had been going on? Trust me, if there had been anything I could do to help her, I would have."

Jayne watched the smaller man almost cower in fear. It was so amusing it made Jayne almost giggle on the inside. He stepped closer making it more unlikable. "Nah no time to apologize little man. You dun insulted me already. Too late." He waved his knife in the air.

His words were obviously falling on deaf ears at this point. Feyden bumped into a side table as he backed away from Jayne, his mind racing for a last minute plea bargain. "Listen, is there any way I can convince you to skip the whole...murder part of this conversation?" He asked with a hopeful wince. Feyden had the cash on him, maybe Jayne would be willing to work something out.

When he started trying to make offers Jayne's eyebrow quirked up a bit. A large smile appeared on his face. "Well now. Now you're speaking my language. Some money and hoop jumpin' would be good...apologies too." He said nodding. "Whatever money you got shiny man you hand it over to ole Jayne. Then we'll get to your hoop jumpin' and apologies." The mercenary extended his rather large hand holding his knife firmly in the other one.

Fedyen felt his blood run cold as he realized that Jayne wanted to humiliate him here. Fiddling with the wallet in the back pocket of his pants, Feyden pulled out several very large bills. Not a considerable amount from a boy raised on Sihnon, but more than a month's worth of work pay from any one of the crew aboard Serenity. He extended his hand to offer the cash to Jayne, his free hand gripping the side of Inara's vanity table.

"There, that's all I've got on me." He glanced over the large man's shoulder to look out the door, praying to Buddha that someone would barge in and stop the gorilla from slaughtering him. "Now...uh...will you reconsider slitting my throat?" He asked hopefully.

Jayne took the money from the man and pocketed it. Holding the knife up a bit more he raised his chin. "I'll try." He said tilting his head. "Now...what can I make a little man like yourself do. On your knees..." He trailed off a smirk. "And kiss my damn boots." A slow chuckle errupted from him and then he stopped a stern face.

"Now!" He barked out. "When your down with that you get your raggedy ass out into the main hold. You take them clothes off cause I'm kinda likin' your jacket. You hand over all them nice clothes and sit your ass on the weight bench and wait till I say you can move."

Feyden's stomach dropped at Jayne's demands, his head swimming in shock. He scoffed nervously, "In that order?" he feigned a smirk, trying to gauge if the mercenary was serious. But Jayne's expression remained. The boy's smile faded, and he held onto the corner of the vanity, slowly lowering himself to the floor as he prepared to face Jayne's large, mud-ridden footwear...

Moments later, Feyden was sitting on the weight bench in the middle of the cargo hold, naked as the day he was born, shivering in the cold air as he rested his hands on his cross legs to conserve his own body heat.

* * *

Mal finally looked up in the direction of the three youngsters walking off, choosing not to look at Inara as he addressed her. "You can leave at the end of the month. Hell, you can buy the shuttle from me and have it to base your little operation out of, if you want."

"My little operation?" Inara was almost insulted by his description of her job, but found herself more surprised by his comment than anything. But the shuttle? It was an absurd idea, more so than anything that he'd ever failed to censor coming out of his mouth. What was worse, Mal couldn't even look at her when he said it. Narrowing her eyes, she stared hard at the captain.

"Where did that come from?" she asked, stepping further into the room.

Mal let in a sharp breath and shook his head. "Well what else you wanna have me call it? You get all upset when I call it whorin'."

So far, Inara was able to maintain some semblance of calm. In all honesty, she was simply confused at this point. "I never said a word about leaving Serenity."

She moved to stand a few feet in front of him. "And why were you eavesdropping on my private conversation? I know why Jayne would, because...well, he's Jayne... but what's your excuse ? I specifically asked to be left alone. This is a private matter between Feyden and myself, you needn't get involved."

"Ai ya!" He almost shouted. "What difference does it make if I was there or not? I was there and I heard what fancy pants had to say. 'Sides Jayne wanted me there. He wanted to make sure we knew everything there was to know about this guy. We didn't know if he had been some serial killer or something." He said finally moving past her.

That only made him look down at his gun again. He didn't want to look her in the eyes. "Well the kid ain't far off 'Nara. I may have some stupid sense of nobility, but everyday you stay on my ship you risk your own life." He let the rag run smoothing over the trigger, trying his best to keep busy. He wished he had all his weapons now; that way, he could be cleaning the whole lot of them. All he had was his pistol. Damn. Mal stopped cleaning the gun and placed it back in his holster. He tossed the rag onto the table and rose up.

Inara felt like she'd said this a thousand times, on both sides of the issue, in fact. "We've been through this before, Mal. I knew what I was getting into when I came back onboard. I made a conscious decision of my own free will."

"Right free will." He stated with a shrug. "You left once. It ain't that hard to leave again. I mean you seem a bit wishy washy if you ask me. I mean you leave once and then after I drag you back after saving you you're all in a tissy. Then just like that you're all wantin' to say just cause Wash and Book died."

The barb about Wash and Book hit harder than she'd expected, and her angry expression faltered for a moment. "That's not fair, Mal," she insisted quietly, watching as he made a further fool out of him self by speaking.

"Why shouldn't I get involved if this super guy is gonna start talkin' about how bad of an influence on you. Which is startin' to sound a bit true. Hell I know you ain't no wilted defenseless flower, but you seem to be doin' a lot more violence then I seen from most companions." He protested, nodding his head at her. Just don't look at her. It was easy. Grabbing his cup as he rounded her, he poured himself another drink. He took a long dragged out sip and finally let his eyes settle on her.

When he commented on his bad influence leading her to violence, she finally rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't give yourself so much credit," she droned, reaching out and snatching his drink from his hand. Most of the alcohol on this ship was glorified engine grease to begin with, and a drunken Mal was a most assuredly unreasonable Mal. Inara plopped the glass onto the countertop beside her.

"And I'm not about to argue with you drunk," she finished bluntly, standing purposely between the captain and his booze.

He protested with a glare as she took his cup away. He was upset now. She took his drink and was prancing around acting like there wasn't nothing wrong. "Bao bay..." His words dripping with sarcasm. "I ain't drunk. Not even close. If I get drunk you're gonna know because I'll be bare ass naked trying to fly the ship from my the kitchen table. So don't go saying I'm drunk." He just didn't want to look her in the eyes.

"Well you're sure starting to sound intoxicated." Mal was being his typical bull-headed self, without a thing to stop him, by the looks of it.

"If you wanna go back and get to bumpin' uglies with Mr. Fancy Pants you go right ahead."

Her mind came to a screeching halt by what he said next. "Wait, you mean...Feyden?!"

"What in the world could you have against Feyden? You don't even know him!" As Mal tried to pass her, Inara followed him close behind.

"What could I have against Feyden hmmm..." He stopped acting like he was actually thinking it over. "The guy pointed out every single flaw I got. He insulted me time and time again. Why would I not hate him." He said starting to walk again.

"I don't have no issues with you that I wish to be discussin' at this moment. You just tell me when you wanna be leavin'. Hell, your little golden boy in there loves you, I wouldn't keep him waiting while wastin' my time with a crook of a captain." Mal marched past her. He was trying to leave.

As Mal spat back Feyden's words, 'crook of a captain', Inara grew angrier. "For the record, I defended you," she shot back indignantly. "Something you would have noticed if you hadn't been to busy fishing for what you wanted to hear."

"You defended me yeah, but what would have happened later on in that conversation. I think you might have just given up. Thought 'oh boy he's right'. I mean the guy ain't exactly stupid, but he ain't too bright either if you ask me." He said sourly as he walked.

"Is that what this has been about this entire time?" A smirk grew at the idea, and she took the opportunity to gloat. "You're jealous! I can't believe I'd live to see the day, but here it is: Malcolm Reynolds threatened by a boy from the Core."

He came to a dead end stop though when she called him jealous. Spinning around Mal stared her down. "Dung ee-miao!" He shouted. "I ain't jealous of him." With that Mal turned to walk again. Listening to everything she had to say. She was so positively annoying sometimes it drove him crazy. He rolled his eyes.

She followed Mal across the room towards the door, glaring at the back of his head. "So what is it that you want me to say, exactly? That I want to leave, now and abandon my family? How about that Feyden has shown me the error of my ways, and whisked me off my feet? That I've finally realized that you're beneath me?" The words were meant to sting, but only as retaliation for how much Mal had just hurt her with his own accusations.

Mal stopped walking a few feet ahead of her. His back tensed up. His muscles got tight and his eyes shut quietly. Last time Mal had heard that was from Draedon. He could almost see it...

* * *

_"Reynolds. Malcolm Reynolds. The brave man who tried to save his troops. How's it feel to have left them behind to die?" He asked Mal quietly from outside the cell. Mal was seated on a bench. He was a lone. Barely had any clothes to keep him warm where he was._

_"You left them." He said examining his hands._

_"Ah, but you drug them into this mess. Making them believe. Giving them hope. Pretty sad if you ask me." He said._

_"You killed them not me." Mal said continuing to stare at his hands. He couldn't take the bait. If he tried to assault this man through these bars it was more trouble than it was worth._

_"Correction Mr. Reynolds your own foolish pride did that for me. I didn't have to do much." Ah hell screw this. He was gonna die before he let this man degrade his mens fallings. He jumped up from his bench charging the bars. Before Draedon could move away he had looped an arm out holding Draedon against the bars in a headlock. Draedon struggled to cry out. The doors swung open and men in fatigues went to his cell door swinging it open. They charged Mal attacking him till he couldn't stand or talk much. Draedon stepped over rubbing his throat and sent a kick to Mal's throat. "You won't ever win. Don't forget that. I'm the bigger man. You're the one who doesn't mean a thing. You're beneath me, Reynolds. Stay where you belong." With that he left Mal to bleed..._

* * *

Mal shook his head and glanced back at her. "I ain't beneath nobody."

He turned around fully to face her. There was no more happy go lucky Captain who took things as they came. Full blown war-time Malcolm Reynolds. "I ain't threatened by no boy from the Core either!" He yelled, stepping closer.

Had she been in a normal mood, Inara would have been terrified at the wrath Mal was displaying, but her own anger was only fueled on by his rant.

"You wanna toss insults about, Inara, that's fine. But if you wanna continue to keep that trash in your room on my ship any longer, then you better straighten his ass out or I'm tossing him out on his head with a bullet hole between his eyes. I'll kick you out just as fast. Then you gotta go crawling back to your whorin' instead hanging out with us lowly criminals."

As the captain insulted Feyden, she lost any calm she might have had at this point. Teeth gritted in fury, she took his words with a glaring eye, the word 'whore' cutting deeper than it ever had in the past. Without much thought behind it other than to cause Mal pain, Inara suddenly lifted a delicate hand, pulling it back and striking Mal across the face with all the strength within her.

A hollow silence filled the room as she stood there after; her hand draped at her side, burning with a sharp, angry pain. Her breath hitched as she found her voice.

"If you ever threaten him, or call him trash again," she started slowly and deadly serious, "I swear, you will never see me on this ship ever again for as long as I live."

Mal hadn't expected that. He stood in awkward silence. Cold deadly blue eyes watching her. It wasn't everyday Mal got this angry. He was a pretty easy going guy most days. Even around Jayne. Except for when Jayne tried to sell out River and Simon. He wasn't one to get that angry unless he was pushed to the brink. Mal stiffened up some still quite upset about everything.

"You see there..." He said a hint of a smirk crossing over his face. "Knew you'd come around to his thinking. I do believe thats the first time you've really struck me. Good job. He's been on my ship not long and you're already giving me slaps for insulting him. I didn't see you slapping him around when he called me names. Guess I see where your loyalty lies."

Mal nodded, raising a hand up to rub at his cheek some. "Good one." Mal turned around completely facing his back to her and he walked. He wasn't stupid. He had already known who she'd pick. Once he got down the corridor he snapped and turned to face her again.

"Oh and...he's still trash." He nodded and spun back around.

Inara didn't respond to his final words, but simply breathed in and out heavily, her entire body quivering with residual anger. Mentally, she was shocked at her own reaction. She had never lashed out against Mal with so much blind hatred.

Had it really come to this? At this moment, she outright despised herself. She hadn't meant any of the cruel things that she had said to Mal. Deep down, he had to realize that, too. They always tried to hurt each other when they got into these bouts of theirs.

But there was something very different about this fight, thought. It had been...painful. As if her entire world had shifted upside down at the thought that she and Mal might be through. In any sense.

* * *

**_To Be Continued! Please Read and Review!_**

* * *

**Chinese Translations:**

_zhao shi zhe_ - troublemaker

_fei hua _- nonsense

_Ai ya!_ - Damn!

_Gwon nee tze-jee duh shr _- mind your own business

_Dao yi you dao_ - Even thieves have their principles.

"_Ye chang meng duo_" - proverb, "The longer you wait, the more unexpected developments may occur."


End file.
